This invention involves a device and apparatus to utilize extraction discs to collect and measure impurities in liquids, specifically water. This invention also involves a method of handling apparatus together with mechanisms to carry out the extraction of impurities.
The testing of the purity of drinking water in particular the determination of the presence and quantity of minute quantities of a very large number of possible contaminants is saddled with high costs of testing. These high costs are in large measure due to the multitude of separate steps, the difficulty of handling the glassware to maintain absolute cleanliness and the rather labor intensive testing procedures involved.
EMPORE.TM. extraction discs marketed by J. T. Baker, Inc. and J. T. Baker B.V. 222 Redschool Lane, Phillipsburg, N.J. 08865 are a relatively new sample extraction product. The EMPORE.TM. discs are supplied by the 3M Company and are bonded to handling discs by J. T. Baker. These extraction discs and methods provided to handle and use these discs in the extraction procedures are described in the February 1991 J. T. Baker bulletins and brochures entitled "3M EMPORE.TM. EXTRACTION DISKS WITH BAKERBOND.TM. C.sub.18 AND C.sub.8 ", "RUN MORE WATER QUALITY TESTS IN LESS TIME USING LESS SOLVENT", and "EMPORE.TM. EXTRACTION DISKS WITH BAKERBOND BONDED PHRASES" all incorporated herein by reference thereto.
The determination of organic compounds in drinking water by a liquid-solid extraction methods are described in publication method 525.1 titled Determination of Organic Compounds in Drinking Water by Liquid-Solid Extraction and Capillary Column Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Revision 2.2 J. W. Eichelberger, Et al, method 525, Revision 1.0, 2.0, 2.1 (1988) published by Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268 pages 325 through 361 et sec, all incorporated herein by reference thereto.
The EMPORE.TM. sample extraction products include chemically bonded silica enmeshed at an inert polytetrafluoroethylene to create a mechanically stable sorbent disc. These discs provide substantial improvement in the extraction procedure replacing the time-consuming mixing and shaking operations of large volumes of solvents. The well recognized time-consuming procedures of liquid/liquid extraction are improved by the rapid extraction of analytes coupled with low solvent usage and accurate analysis.
While the EMPORE.TM. extraction discs greatly reduce the time required for these tests, the time and cost comparison provided by the supplier still indicates that there is a substantial cost and time commitment to these tests. Prior to the use of these discs, the time required for testing was estimated by J. T. Baker, Inc., in the brochures incorporated hereinabove, at five hours with a cost of three hundred and six dollars. Even with the EMPORE.TM. discs the time required was admitted to be 1.7 hours with a cost of one hundred and fifty six dollars. The photographs incorporated in the referenced bulletins showing the glassware utilized for each step and extraction as well as multiple glassware for the multiple tests required attest to the major problem of handling the samples, the glassware and the methods involved. There is a clear need to streamline the procedures and reduce the time and expense involved in these testing procedures.
None of the prior art devices and methods, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,012,681 to LENTZEN; 5,005,430 to KIBLER ET AL; 4,655,094 to HERZFELDT; 3,846,075 to CIOFFI; 3,524,351 to BAYLY ET AL; and 3,362,222 to JOHNSON ET AL, provide a suitable answer to the handling difficulties and the time involved in the testing procedures or attain the objects described hereinbelow.